The hopes of beleaguered Toronto commuters were buoyed yesterday with the release of a TTC report on a proposed Downtown Relief Line.

That much discussed but still hypothetical subway route linking the downtown core with the Bloor-Danforth line has achieved something of a mythical status among Toronto transit watchers, who for years have argued it would be best way to relieve congestion on the Yonge line. That route is predicted to reach capacity by 2031.

Although the report, part of the Downtown Rapid Transit Expansion Study, pegged the minimum cost of building the DRL at a daunting $3.2 billion, the study is at least a sign that after decades of talking about it the commission is taking serious steps to determine how to make it a reality.

Actually laying track is still a long way off however. The report didn't touch on all-important funding question, which remains contentious at City Hall.

The report proposes four possible configurations for the DRL:

- East: from St. Andrew Station to Pape

- East and West: from St. Andrew Station to Dundas West, and from King to Pape

- East and North: From St. Andrew Station to Pape, Eglinton, and Don Mills

- West, East, and North: Dundas West to St. Andrew Station and King, King to Pape, Eglinton, and Don Mills

These options will be further examined in the second phase of the downtown transit study.

But while the DRL got most of the media coverage yesterday, it is just one project the report says could be needed to relieve congestion downtown. While not as costly as the DRL, the other options the report discusses would also be expensive, disruptive and possibly controversial.

They include:

Major station upgrades:

Every day, 400,000 riders pass through the TTC's main interchange station at Bloor-Yonge. As that number continues to grow, there is increasing need to expand the station's capacity. The platforms for the Yonge line were widened in 1992, but the next step would be to build a third platform on the station's upper level. The Bloor-Danforth line, on the station's lower level, would need a second platform in addition to its current one.

According to TTC spokesperson Brad Ross, the construction of a DRL would enable the commission to put off major improvements to Bloor-Yonge for the foreseeable future.

The report notes other downtown stations like TTC Union and King are also facing capacity pressures, however.

Make way for streetcars:

In two years, the TTC will begin receiving the first of its new fleet of streetcars. The vehicles are twice as long as the commission's current cars, and while they will increase system capacity, they won't do much good if they get bogged down in car traffic.

"The city and TTC really need to do some things around left-turns, parking issues... to be able ensure that that surface transit is efficient and reliable." says Ross.

Along the downtown East-West streetcar routes of Carlton/College, Dundas, Queen, and King, parking could be removed and left-turns prohibited, says Ross. The report also notes dedicated right-of-ways are also an option, but given recent uproar about the new LRT lines and cries of "trolleys running down the centre of our streets!", Ross admits that would be controversial.

"That's a huge political debate," he says with a laugh. "I'm not trying to spark that."

Self-containment:

According to the report, one of the simplest ways to reduce congestion would be to achieve a higher level of self-containment in the downtown core. In other words, have more people who work downtown actually live there too, thus cutting down on the need to commute into the core.

That's much easier said than done of course, and more of a job for city planners than the TTC.